Who:
Lisa Renstrom
President, Sierra Club board of directors
Where:
Charlotte, NC
Saturday mattered -- a busy Sierra Club day for me. I woke up in Seattle, in Lisa Dekker's (Cascade Chapter Fundraising Chair) cozy guest bedroom, a vastly different experience from the previous morning with the Sierra Student Coalition leadership at their "Shindig." The SSC doesn't rest, and when you're with them, you don't either. This year the Shindig was at the Mountaineers Lodge on Snoqualmie Pass, an hour east of Seattle. The accommodations were sparse, but the atmosphere and group dynamics were breathtaking. The SSC leaders have "greenfire" and every day matters deeply to them.
The SSC energy merged into Friday's dinner with the Cascade Chapter and Seattle Group. They were still walking on air from the passage of Washington's Clean Car Bill and Clean Buildings Bill. Their pride and excitement made for a restless sleep. Coffee was called for and Lisa made me a strong cup with hot milk. Then it was off to more coffee (this is Seattle, after all). Tina Schulstad, Cascade Chapter Chair, and I touched base in a typical Seattle coffee shop. We covered things that mattered: community perspectives, fundraising, recruitment, , the upcoming Sierra Summit, and Building Environmental Communities--what's working best, what's not. Our intense conversation contrasted with the bicyclists, dog walking, and casual Saturday morning conversation in and around the coffee shop. Tina autographed and gave me a Sierra Club Book, "Wild Seattle," which will reside on my living room table.
Saturday afternoon mattered. I contributed 650 kilograms of CO2 emissions on my flight back to San Francisco to join our Finance Governance Committee to discuss the 2006 budget. FinCom advises the Sierra Club Board on complex, challenging financial decisions in a world where human and financial resources are dear. Ensuring that staff, volunteers, and different perspectives are aligned on the right priorities really matters.
Saturday concluded in the best way--dinner at home with my husband Bob and Annie, the daughter of a friend interning in San Francisco and staying with us for the summer. Loved ones, friends, co-workers. All passionate people contributing their intellect and time enlisting others to enjoy, explore and protect this planet.
